Home > Kanatahkwèn:ke Living Fund > Why Supporting Kanatahkwèn:ke Matters
Why Supporting Kanatahkwèn:ke Matters
Set on a three-acre forested site along Highway 132, Kanatahkwèn:ke offers a diverse range of cultural, educational, artistic, and community experiences for both community members and visitors. Your support helps sustain and expand the following programming initiatives:
1. Safeguarding Kahnawà:ke History and Knowledge
Fostering deeper connection to Kanien’kehá:ka heritage by engaging community members and visitors in immersive cultural and learning experiences.
KORLCC Museum
A dynamic journey across two floors of permanent exhibitions that presents the history, identity, and living culture of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke. It begins with an introduction to the community, followed by the Rotinonhsión:ni Creation Story, the Great Law of Peace and Confederacy, and traditional village life, along with other key narratives. A historical timeline highlights key moments that have shaped the community’s political, social, and cultural landscape.
KORLCC Library
The library is frequented by community members, students and scholars from around the world. It holds a rich collection of resources on Kanien’kéha language learning, Rotinonhsión:ni history, traditional medicines, and contemporary Indigenous scholarship and literature.
KORLCC Photo Archive
The Kahnawà:ke Photography Archive is a large collection of photographs preserving historical images dating back to the 1900s and protecting an invaluable visual record of community life.
2. Keeping Kanien’kéha (our language) alive for future generations
Kanien’kéha is more than a means of communication. It carries our values, beliefs, worldviews, and our relationship to the land and to one another. Keeping the language alive ensures the continuity of our culture by empowering community members to actively contribute to language vitality and normalizing its everyday use.
KORLCC Language School
The renowned Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center Language School plays a vital role in preserving and revitalizing Kanien’kéha by providing culturally grounded language curriculums that strengthen spoken language proficiency. Through immersive and intergenerational programming, the school supports learners at different stages of their language journey. Programs include:
- Kanien’kéha Ratiwennahní:rats, a two-year full-time immersion program designed for Kanien’kehá:ka adults to develop fluency and confidence in the language, with the potential to become teachers through sustained practice and mentorship.
- Language Mentorship Program that pairs graduates with fluent-speaking Kanien’kéha Elders to further strengthen conversational proficiency and cultural knowledge.
- Additional language initiatives that also provide accessible learning opportunities for individuals beginning their journey in Kanien’kéha language learning.
All-Kanien'kéha Programming
To further advance its mission of engaging community members in learning and speaking Kanien’kéha, the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center develops a wide range of cultural programming conducted entirely in Kanien’kéha, creating accessible opportunities for language use across generations. Programming includes:
- Intergenerational radio shows featuring Elders and youth,
- Tóta tánon Ohkwá:ri, a children’s television series,
- Annual variety shows and community events,
- Language symposiums bringing together Mohawk nations to encourage inter-cultural language learning and revitalization efforts
3. Creating spaces for cultural learning and connection
We do not learn only in classrooms, we learn through life itself: through our songs, dances, stories, and our connection to the land. Teachings that form our cultural foundation are essential to the strength, resilience, and survival of our nation. These cultural spaces will engage our people in upholding and passing on the teachings inherited from our ancestors.
Cultural Workshops & Teachings
Workshops in cultural foundation, traditional practices, song, dance that strengthen cultural knowledge and identity.
Traditional Arts Programming
Courses in basketry, beadwork, leatherwork, and other traditional and contemporary cultural art forms.
4. Empowering Kahnawà:ke’s Artistic Community
Rooted in our culture, we also embrace and celebrate the vast and evolving world of the arts. Kahnawà:ke is home to many forms of artistic expression that we are committed to nurturing and growing. We recognize that art provides a powerful outlet for self-expression, allowing community members to process emotions, reclaim their voices, strengthen identity, and foster healing. These creative spaces will encourage creativity, collaboration and growth through the transformative power of the arts.
Turtle Island Theatre
Summer drama camps, after-school youth programs, and theatre initiatives for teens and adults, participants of all ages to develop artistic skills, build confidence, shared lived experiences and strengthen their connection to culture and community.
“It is because of my time in the theatre that I live a life full of creative expression with empathy for others, as well as a general confidence in myself to speak up and share my ideas. Theatre has been an outlet for stress relief, a place to have fun and a sense of community, and a great way to exercise your mind and body. It is because of this creative and expressive lifestyle that I am able to live a happy, fulfilled life that is full of joy and appreciation for the world around me.”
KOR Arts Center
Through its workshops and professional development opportunities, community artists across visual, cultural, performing, and multimedia disciplines are supported in strengthening their practice and making their voices heard in Kahnawà:ke and beyond.
5. Building bridges through shared knowledge, culture and arts
The Two Row Wampum Belt is a white belt featuring two parallel purple rows. For our people, it represents a relationship between nations founded on peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. The wampum belt woven into the façade of Kanatahkwèn:ke reaffirms our commitment to fostering meaningful connections and opportunities for dialogue between visitors and the Kanien’kehá:ka people, grounded in understanding, respect, and reciprocity.
- Tailored tours, workshops, and immersive learning experiences for schools organizations, visitors, and special groups
- Annual Echoes of a Proud Nation Powwow, held each July, attracting over 17,000 visitors over a two-day weekend.
- Exhibitions and art fairs presenting the work of local artists
- Stage productions highlighting established plays alongside culturally relevant performances
“We had the privilege of visiting the Kahnawà:ke Welcome Center Fellowship study tour, and it was truly a memorable experience. Conversations with Roxann (the guide) were particularly powerful, she shared histories that are too often absent from textbooks, from the defeat of American incursions to the Oka Crisis of 1990. She also introduced us to the teaching of seven generations, a perspective that deeply inspired our group by reminding us that today’s choices shape the future. This visit was one of the highlights of our study tour, and we are grateful for the openness, knowledge, and hospitality we received. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn and be inspired by the rich history, resilience, and vision of the Kahnawà:ke community.”
Anne M.
